Electric fuse



R. J. KINGSLEY.

ELECTRIC FUSE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1 919.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

w 9 kw UNITED STATES RALPH JUDSON KINGSLEY, OF NEVT YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC FUSE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

Application filed September 18, 1919. Serial No. 324,523.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH J. KiNcsLnY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented anew and Improved Electric Fuse, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The present invention relates in general to electric fuses, and particularly to cartridge electric fuses.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a plurality of auxiliary fusible ele ments which maybe conveniently brought into use either selectively or collectively to take the place of a destroyed fusible element.

Still another object of the invention is to so arrange the auxiliary fusible elements and the means for completing a; circuit thereto, that they may be connected in parallel with the normally active fusible element and thus accommodate a current of high amperage.

Other objects will appear upon reference to the accompanying drawing, the novel points being particularly set forth in the subjoined claims.

In this drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of a cartridge fuse constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a fuse con structed in accordance with the invention taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 3 is a view showing the construction of the terminal end of the divided terminal pieces and the relative relation of the fusible elements thereto;

Fig. at is an end view of ends;

Fig. 5 is a cross section of one of the end blocks with the divided terminal piece attached thereto;

Fig. 6 is an end view of one of the end blocks with the terminal pieces attached thereto;

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is an end view of the opposite end of the fuse from that illustrated in Fig. 4, and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the crowfoot-shaped dividing wall.

Referring to the drawing in detail, 5 represents a shell or cartridge which is proone of the fuse means of caps 7,

duced from suitable material, having open ends adapted to be closed preferably by diskshaped blocks 6, which are held in place by said caps being provided with threaded portions engaging theshell, and with an annular flange overlying the blocks and confining the same in place by means of the shoulders provided by the flange and the end of the shell. Secured to each of the blocks 6, by means of countersunk screws 8, is a pair of spaced terminal pieces 9, one terminal piece on each of the blocks, together with a fusible element 10 and lugs 11 completing the circuit through the fuse. Should an excessive load be imposed on the fusible element 10 and the same be destroyed, the threaded plug 12, which is carried as shown best in Fig. 1, on the cap 7, may be removed and inserted in the threaded opening 13, to bridge the space between the terminal pieces and bring the new fusible element 1% into use. Should this fuse be destroyed, a second threaded plug 15, carried by the opposite cap, may be removed and inserted in the threaded opening 16, thus bridging the space between the opposite terminal pieces and bringing the fusible element 17 into use.

From the foregoing, it will be readily seen that in many instances it will not be necessary to remove the cartridge from the clips to bring into use a new fusible element to take the place of the one destroyed. This, perhaps, is the principal feature of the invention, that is to say, the convenient and practical manner in which a new fusible element may be brought into use.

However, there is still another advantage to be gained with the construction proposed by the invention, in that should it be desirous to use the fusible element with an excessive amperage, the plug 12 may be inserted in the opening .13, and in this manner, the fusible element 1 1 may be used with the fusible element 10. Also by using the plug 15 in the opening 16, and the plug 12 in the opening 13, all of the elements could be used collectively to take care of an excessive amperage.

It is to be noted that while the fusible elements 10 and 17 are terminally connected to opposite terminal pieces, the fusible element 1 1 has its ends terminally connected to diagonal terminal pieces. This, of course, is necessary in realizing the use of three fusible elements.

As a safeguard against injury to the other elements When one is destroyed, the crowfoot portion 18 is employed to divide the shell 5 into a plurality of compartments, each compartment accommodating a fusible element. As shown, the elements extend longitudinally of the shell, passing through openings in the blocks 6 and terminally connected to the terminal pieces. The different compartments provided by the partition 18 are filled with flake asbestos or the like, and to prevent dampness from injuring the fusible elements, the spaces between the ter minal pieces and the caps 7, are filled with. Wax. Of course in applying the wax, care should be taken to leave an unobstructed opening for the plugs 12 and 15. The material used is of little importance so long as it meets all of the requirements for practical fuse constructions.

I claim- 1. In an electric fuse, a plurality of fusible elements, a divided mounting on each end of the fuse adapted to maintain one of the fusible elements normally active, said divided mountings providing circuit-completing means for the fusible elements and having an opening for the reception of a plug, whereby the circuit may be completed between the divided parts of the mounting by the plug for selectively rendering one or more of the elements active singly or simultaneously.

2. An electric fuse embodying in its construction contact ends, a fusible element in circuit With the contact ends of the fuse apair of auxiliary fusible elements one of Which is normally insulated from the contact ends of the fuse and the other of which is normally insulated from one contact end of the fuse, a circuit completing means for said auxiliary elements comprising a divided block at each end of the fuse and to Which the ends of all the elements are terminally connected, an opening in the spaces between the divided blocks adapted to re ceive a plug, whereby the spaces between the divided blocks may be bridged to complete the circuit from one part to the other and selectively or collectively render the auxiliary elements active or for also rendering the first-named element active in parallel with one or more of the auxiliary elements.

3. In a cartridge fuse, a shell, blocks closing both ends of the shell, caps having flanges overlying the blocks and threaded parts engaging the shell, a crowfoot division Wall dividing the shell into a plurality of compartments, a fusible element in each of the compartments, a pair of spaced terminal pieces on each of said blocks, one terminal piece on each of the blocks together with one of the fusible elements completing a circuit through the fuse, a plug adapted to bridge the space between the terminal pieces on one end of the fuse for introducing a second fusible element, and a plug adapted to bridge the space between the opposite terminal pieces for introducin a third fusible element or collectively renfering all of the fusible elements active in parallel.

RALPH JUDSON KINGSLEY. 

